Chief executive Jo Woolf said: "One of the saddest things is that if the people were local, they have stolen from a hospice that would have provided free care for them, their family or friends if they needed it in the future.

"A huge amount of work by staff and volunteers had gone into getting the shop ready for the grand reopening and it’s such a shame that we won’t get to share this with our supporters at the event."

Upon reading about the break-in, Lauren Emma posted on the open High Wycombe Facebook page: “After seeing the post about the charity shop being burgled (some people cannot get any lower!) and seeing that there are nearly 10,000 people on this page, could we donate £1 each?

“Most people will not do so for whatever reasons and that is their choice, but surely out of 10,000, 400 of us can!”

In just 19 hours, the rallying cry had raised £245 with the post gaining more comments, shares and likes by the hour.

Facebook users praised Lauren’s idea and the generosity of the town’s people.

Lauren posted later: “I never thought this many people would be so generous.

“Today has shown that we can all work together to do something good and selfless. Thank you so much, I’m so glad I posted now and I can say I am proud of the people of High Wycombe.”